Health and Medical News and Resources

General interest items edited by Janice Flahiff

Harmful Bacteria Live In Healthy Bodies Without Causing Disease

Depiction of the human body and bacteria that ...

Depiction of the human body and bacteria that predominate     Larger Image at http://www.genome.gov/Images/press_photos/highres/20169-300.jpg(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Somehow I always felt this to be true…

Many scientists now regard human bodies as “supra-organisms”, collections of communities made up of human and microbial cells coexisting in a whole that is more than the sum of its parts.

From the 14 June 2012 Medical News Today article

Scientists working on a huge project that has mapped all the different microbes that live in and on a healthy human body have made a number of remarkable discoveries, including the fact that harmful bacteria can live in healthy bodies and co-exist with their host and other microbes without causing disease.

This week sees the publication of several papers from the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), including two in Nature and two inPLoS ONE.

The Microbiome

The microbiome is the sum of all the microbes that colonize the body: it comprises trillions of microorganisms that outnumber human cells by 10 to 1. The microbes inhabit every nook and cranny of the body, and most of     the time the relationship is a friendly one, because they help digest food, strengthen the immune system and fight off dangerous pathogens.

Colorado University (CU)-Boulder Associate Professor Rob Knight of the BioFrontiers Institute is co-author on the two Nature papers. He told the press that the microbiome may only make up 1 to 3% of human body mass, but it plays a key role in human health.

One of the fascinating features of the microbiome is that different body sites have different communites of microorganisms that are as different from each other as the differences between microbial communities in oceans and deserts.

Knight said:

“By better understanding this microbial variation we can begin searching for genetic biomarkers for disease.”

Another of the curious features the HMP has discovered is that even healthy people carry low levels of harmful bacteria, but as long as the body remains healthy, they don’t cause disease, they just coexist alongside beneficial microbes. …

…

The HMP researchers established that more than 10,000 microbial species inhabit the human “ecosystem”. Knight said they believe they have now found between 81 and 99% of all genera of microorganisms in healthy adult Americans.

One of the key findings was the stark differences in microbial communities across the human body. For instance, the microbial communities that live on the teeth are different from those in saliva. …

…Another interesting discovery is that of the genes that influence human metabolism, most of them are in the microbiome and not in the human genome…

…gut bacteria do more than break down food and its constituents like proteins, fats and carbohydrates, they also produce beneficial compounds like vitamins and anti-inflammatories.

Related articles

June 14, 2012 Posted by | Consumer Health, Medical and Health Research News, Nutrition | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Atlas of the Human Body from the American Medical Association & Additional Anatomy Links

Atlas of the Human Body from the American Medical Association

Includes simple and clearly labelled diagrams of the circulatory system, the brain, the torso, the female reproductive system, and others.  Summaries of systems and related information. Each diagram and rendering contains a brief discussion of the system in question, along with a selection of related information on the left-hand side of the page. The section titled “Effects of Stroke” is quite effective, and this site will be a useful resource for the general public, medical professionals, and others working in related fields.

Side view of the torso


Other Online Human Body Atlases***

GetBodySmart – An Online Textbook about Human Anatomy and Physiology

“Visually Learn About the Human Body Using Our Interactive Animations”
Meant to supplement McGraw Hill Higher Education physical textbooks. Includes interactive animations and additional resources as quizzes and fact sheets. IPad compatible versions

BioDigitalHuman

A virtual 3D body that brings to life “thousands of medically accurate anatomy objects and health conditions in an interactive web-based platform.” Hundreds of interactive features and customized views that look through all of the body systems .Annotated Screenshots area save and share these powerful tools for use in a range of settings. While the Basic version is completely free, there are other levels of functionality available for a fee

Gray’s Anatomy 

The classic illustrated text of human anatomy (20th edition, 1918) is now available online. It is fully searchable by keyword, table of contents, or subject index containing 13,000 entries. From Bartleby.com.
InnerBody: Your Guide to Human Anatomy Online ***

“The place for fun, interactive and educational views of the human body.” You can explore human anatomy through illustrations, animation, tutorials, and descriptions.

Human Anatomy On-line 

“Human Anatomy On-line, the place for fun, interactive and educational views of the human body. This program contains over one hundred illustrations of the human body with animations and thousands of descriptive links.”

Google Body Browser

“layered, interactive, high resolution experience allows users to zoom, pan, rotate, the human body, and to visualize its organs, systems, bones, and muscles.”[From Google launches Body Browser/joycevalenz]

Human Anatomy

http://www.upstate.edu/cdb/education/grossanat/

Designed for first year medical students, useful for others taking biology related courses. Material arranged in  six sections ranging from extremities to the head and neck. Each area contains a variety of detailed anatomical charts, glossaries, and images.  Each section includes many radiology resources for different perspective of the human body through x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. Other helpful resources include fact sheets, quizzes, teaching materials, and other freely available course materials offered from other medical schools.  State University of New York-Upstate Medical University [KMG]

Animated Anatomies 

“Animated Anatomies explores the visually stunning and technically complex genre of printed texts and illustrations known as anatomical flap books. These publications invite the viewer to participate in virtual autopsies, through the process of unfolding their movable leaves, simulating the act of human dissection. This exhibit traces the flap book genre beginning with early examples from the sixteenth century, to the colorful “golden age” of complex flaps of the nineteenth century, and finally to the common children’s pop-up anatomy books of today.”

A collection of  games, videos, and other multimedia excursions. Created by Australian science teacher Ben Crossett. Games here include jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, word searches, and the catch all Just For Fun.

Anatomy Resources (American Association of Anatomists) includes these and many more

Human Anatomy Learning Site 

From the Dartmouth Medical School, the Human Anatomy Learning Web Site is a work in progress, focusing on the needs of first-time students of human anatomy. Its aim is to help students learn clinically relevant anatomy with maximum efficiency.

Anatomy and Physiology Learning Modules

From the University of Minnesota.A collection of study aids for entry-level anatomy and physiology students. Self Tests … Inquiry, Ideas, Thoughts, Learning, Curriculum.

Pocket Body iPhone app (Google Chrome Biodigital Human)

The BioDigital Human is a 3D platform for the understanding of anatomy, disease and treatments.Interactive tools for exploring, dissecting, and sharing custom views, combined with detailed medical descriptions.

*** There are only a limited number of free comprehensive online human body atlases online.
If these do not fit your needs, consider going to a nearby public, academic, or medical library.

Many academic and medical libraries are open to the public (all libraries receiving state funding are open to the public). Don’t forget to ask for a reference librarian if you would like professional assistance!

Many academic and medical libraries provide at least some reference assistance to the public. Call ahead and ask about library services to the public. You may be pleasantly surprised.

As always, feel free to contact me by leaving a comment ( it will not be posted). Or email me at jmflahiff, currently residing at her yahoo dot com account.

I would be happy to search for an image or information meeting your needs. Will reply within 48 hour.

 

December 18, 2010 Posted by | Educational Resources (High School/Early College(, Health Education (General Public), Librarian Resources, Professional Health Care Resources, Public Health | , , , , , , , | 4 Comments